Pride
by samanddianefan10
Summary: Hawkeye comforts B.J. after he recieves an upsetting letter from home. SLASH


Many thanks to, well, you know who you are. It's your fault. :)

B.J. said nothing as he crinkled up the letter, flinging it as far across the  
room as possible. It hit Frank's cot, narrowly missing his feet. Hawkeye walked  
over to grab the letter from Frank, who refused to give it up at first. The dark  
haired surgeon swept the letter from Frank's hands and tossed it back to B.J.

At that very moment Frank Burns smirked as he sat at the edge of his bed,  
polishing his boot. "What's the matter, troubles at home? We've all got those."

"Mind your own business Frank."

"Well it is my business when you throw your property on my side of the tent."

"Weren't you supposed to meet Hot Lips about fifteen minutes ago? I hate to see  
what you two call a date ruined because you were busy taking up space in our  
tent." Hawkeye quipped. He looked over at his friend, who had helped himself to  
a drink. From the look of things it wasn't his first one either.

Frank looked indignant at the mention of Margaret, but couldn't think of a  
reply. He got up and left, trying not to look like he was in a hurry.

"Beej…."Hawkeye walked over and sat next to his friend. "What's wrong? I come in  
here and I nearly get my head taken off by a flying paper ball. Something's  
going on and I'd like to know what it is."

The fair-haired surgeon wiped away a tear from his eye and looked at his best  
friend. "I can't do this anymore, Hawk. I can't sit back and let the world go  
and pretend everything's okay. You have your letters from your Dad, Frank has  
Margaret,..."

"You have Peg and Erin." Hawkeye reminded him. " I know it's hard but you have  
to remind yourself that this war won't last forever. You're going home to a  
woman that loves you. You have more here than most of us will ever have."

"I know that. So why do I feel like this?"

"Do you want to tell me what's made you so crazy?"

"It's Peg. She went into the bank to deposit some money into our savings  
account. She gets to talking with Herb McGregor, the guy who handles deposits.  
And he asks her out for coffee. For coffee! Hawk, do you know what this means?  
I'm not there to protect her from all the jerks like him who want to take  
advantage of an innocent war wife and I should be there. All she was trying to  
do was take care of business- business that I should be there to handle- and she  
gets hit by some jerk! And that's just one that's she's telling me about. What  
about the others? She's a married woman and that doesn't stop them from putting  
the moves on her. Doesn't the fact that she's a married woman mean anything to  
them?"

Hawkeye poured himself a drink and paused for a minute. He knew that his friend  
was prone to jealousy anyways, and this situation was definitely not helping  
matters.

"Maybe not, but it means something to her. B.J., you can't seriously think that  
she would ever go behind your back and do something foolish do you? She was just  
telling you what happened; she wasn't trying to hurt you. I don't know Peg, but  
I feel like I do. I know she would never hurt you in a million years. Have a  
little faith in her."

B.J. sat his glass down and began to cry. "I just want to go home." He  
whispered.

Hawkeye pulled him close. "I know you do. I know you do."

After a few minutes, Hawkeye looked him in the eye. "Have I told you that I'm  
proud that you're my friend?"

B.J. looked completely taken by surprise. "What did I do, besides make a  
world-class fool out of myself? "

"For someone who wants out so badly your patients would never ever know it.  
Everyone who knows you knows where your heart lies. You have a strong spirit of  
conviction about you, and you'll be damned if you let anyone lead you down the  
wrong path. You're the most upstanding guy I've ever met, and in so many ways I  
wish I could be more like you. You're selfless and you have a damn fine sense of  
humor. If I was ever in trouble you'd bet your last dollar you'd be the first  
person I'd call. "

What happened next took the both of them completely by surprise. B.J. looked  
Hawkeye in the eyes and he kissed him tenderly. As their lips met, with neither  
one protesting, both realized how badly that they wanted this to happen. B.J.  
cupped his hand on Hawkeye's face and leaned in for another kiss.

B.J. smiled at Hawkeye. "I'm proud of you, too."


End file.
